One of my new rules regarding travelling is, if someone offers to guide you around their home town, find a way to make that trip happen no matter how tight your budget is. You experience a place in a completely different way when you’re with a local.

Saint Petersburg is a city I’ve always been curious about but because of the crazy world politics, I didn’t think I’d visit the city for a very long time. So when my friend suggested a group trip to her home town, I jumped at the opportunity. She had told me so many stories of this city and this was my chance to see it with her.
So on an early Wednesday morning we got on the train and headed to the historical city not really knowing what to expect. The dreaded interrogation by the border patrol and customs didn’t happen (our passports were checked by officers with very serious looks on their faces and we were asked what we had in our bags, and that was it) and a few hours later we had arrived to a very sunny Saint Petersburg.

What followed was three days of incredibly fun and intense sightseeing which included endless beautiful buildings and cathedrals, many couples on their wedding photo shoots, tasting a variety of artisanal lemonades and my first ever ballet! And then there was the mind blowing extravaganza that is the State Hermitage Museum. I think I need to do a separate post about it because it’s difficult to describe in words, I have to show you some pictures.

I feel like this trip was like an introduction to this grand city, there’s so much more to see that I’ll have to go back. I need to do a proper metro station tour. Metro stations in this city are something else I tell you! There are also more palaces and hipster spots to discover. Not to forget all the vintage shops and design stores we didn’t have time for.